Mass dying of mass persecution? Soviet prisoners of war in 'Unternehmen Barbarossa' - From the diary of a German prison-camp commandant

On the German side, only a few contemporary sources are available on the hi story of Soviet prisoners of war during World War II. Its narrow dimension barely does justice to the importance of this occurrence. What is certain i s that political and military leaders in the Third Reich from the very begi nning created inhuman conditions in German camps in which approximately 2.6 to 3.3 million Red Army prisoners perished. Small wonder that a very uncle ar picture of the Wehrmacht's actual involvement in one of the greatest war crimes in the 20th century exits. Using the diary of a commanding officer in a German transit camp as a selected example, an opportunity is given for the first time to more precisely determine the function and extent of resp onsibility an "ordinary" officer had in the Wehrmacht. It is shown how even a well-intentioned officer was drawn into mass persecution, not only becau se of German policy but also because of the particular circumstances of the war.